HOLDING LIAT Documentary

Screening to be followed by a conversation with director Brandon Kramer and producer Lance Kramer.

Benjamin Kramer’s profile of an Israeli family seeking the return of their kidnapped loved ones who were abducted during the October 7 Hamas attack won the award for Best Documentary at the Berlin Film Festival. Beginning shortly after the abduction of Aviv and Liat Atzili from the Israeli kibbutz of Nir Oz, the documentary patiently observes Liat’s Israeli-American family, the Beinins — father Yehuda, mother Chaya and sister Tal — as they tell their story to the media, politicians and each other while trying to keep hope alive for the safe return of their loved ones. Yehuda and grandson Netta travel to Washington, DC as part of an NGO-sponsored delegation of hostage families, where Yehuda and others voice their preference for negotiation and the safe return of the hostages, over escalation of the invasion in Gaza. Kramer’s camera watches and listens as Yehuda and others meet with several prominent U.S. Senators, interview with Fox News and briefly attend a pro-Israel rally on the Capitol grounds that Yehuda leaves early, distressed by the overt militarism of the speakers. We later see a pro-Palestine rally outside the White House, whose attendees rail against “Genocide Joe.” Kramer provides the space for viewers to process these sequences for themselves, as well as how Yehuda and others react to them in the moment. Just as crucially, Kramer observes how the family members speak about the crisis and to each other. Yehuda’s insistence on asserting his political views and criticism of Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud-led government as a way of coping chafes against other family members’ need for calm amid so much anxiety — as daughter Tal bluntly informs him. Finally, the ultimate fate of their loved ones, after months of agonizing waiting, brings new challenges. –Todd Hitchcock